In paragraph 14 of the article, the authors quote Matt Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, who uses the word “Panopticon.” The word means “all seeing,” pan meaning “all” and opticon meaning “seeing.” The word was used in the late eighteenth century by English utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham to describe his circular design for a prison in which one guard could observe all of the prisoners at once without being seen himself. If our smartphones are observing everything we do without our knowing, are we all in the Panopticon? When you read the article and encounter this word, see if you agree with Blaze that this is an appropriate word to use.
Activity 43:Making Predictions and Asking Questions
Taking the title and the first sentence into account, do you think that the authors want us to stop calling our smartphones “phones”? What arguments do you think they will make? No matter how good the arguments are, do you think having a campaign to change what people call these devices would work? Write your answers in your 1984 notebook.
In paragraph 14 of the article, the authors quote Matt Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, who uses the word “Panopticon.” The word means “all seeing,” pan meaning “all” and opticon meaning “seeing.” The word was used in the late eighteenth century by English utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham to describe his circular design for a prison in which one guard could observe all of the prisoners at once without being seen himself. If our smartphones are observing everything we do without our knowing, are we all in the Panopticon? When you read the article and encounter this word, see if you agree with Blaze that this is an appropriate word to use.
Activity 43: Making Predictions and Asking Questions
Taking the title and the first sentence into account, do you think that the authors want us to stop calling our smartphones “phones”? What arguments do you think they will make? No matter how good the arguments are, do you think having a campaign to change what people call these devices would work? Write your answers in your 1984 notebook.